Reviews

L'enfant perdue by Elena Ferrante

shlomoturano's review against another edition

5.0

Oh-

clareduffy's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

robyn1998's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I feel slightly heartbroken to have finished the Neopolitan Novels. I found The Story Of The Lost Child to be an amazing conclusion. I feel like I was really there in the neighbourhood while all the chaos ensued. I loved the sense of Elena's increasing self-sufficiency and confidence

(Fuck Nino!)

and Lina's increasing inscrutability and maliciousness. I would absolutely love to read more about Elena's daughters and their lives but I know that's wishful thinking. 
I can't wait to reread the whole quartet and pick up anything I didn't notice on the first read and all the foreshadowing. And watch the HBO series! 
Elena Ferrante has become one of my (if not the) favourite authors this year!!!  

jenpaul13's review against another edition

4.0

All things must come to an end, and so too does the Neapolitan novel series by Elena Ferrante with The Story of the Lost Child.

To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.

In middle-adulthood, Elena and Lina are brought together again in both proximity by living in Naples, as well as by circumstances within their lives. As Elena has embarked on having a life with Nino, with all the tumult that it entails with his relationships with other women, Lina is slowly changing the face of the neighborhood with her new computer business with Enzo. When Elena and Lina both find themselves pregnant at the same time, they are drawn further together, re-cementing their childhood friendship and dependence upon one another. During a time of political upheaval, a tragedy takes away Lina's child and leaves her fate unknown, which drives Lina to begin to unravel, hoisting more rational responsibility upon Elena.

The conclusion to this series is as captivating as the previous three novels and pulls together aspects in a satisfying manner. While it may seem like the end was brought about in a slightly rushed manner makes sense when considering these novels as a somewhat autobiographical undertaking of Ferrante--some of the facts are yet to be known. Overall, the pacing of this novel is far quicker than its predecessors, but that might be because everything was already set up and readers now just have to witness the fall as events conclude.

acmarinho3's review against another edition

4.0

Já não me lembrava da última vez que me agarrei assim a uma história. Elena Ferrante soube cativar-me do início ao fim e a sua narrativa absorveu-me totalmente. Tudo o que acontecia no livro tinha impacto em mim. Juro que poderia enunciar uma lista interminável das minhas mudanças de humor e múltiplas reações a tudo o que se passou ao longo destes 4 livros. O primeiro e o segundo foram os preferidos, o terceiro perdeu um pouco a minha atenção, mas o quarto conquistou-me de novo (principalmente a meio do livro). Aconselho vivamente a ler esta tetralogia.

francescomartini's review against another edition

4.0

Accidenti ai finali aperti.

hollyway's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Elena Greco is one of the greatest narrators of all time. Through her we experience the flow of the years, the environments in which she lives and of course the impeccably detailed, unforgettable characters who populate her life. But she is no passive wallflower, no mere observer. She lives, she feels, she acts. She is admirable yet contemptible, perceptive yet naive. While she is captivated by Lila - and certainly succeeds in justifying and transferring that captivation to the reader - I was constantly struck by the astounding complexity of Elena. Flawed and contradictory, but always with an internal logic, a consistency even to the contradictions so that I always understood her even when I hated her decisions or recoiled from her uglier thoughts (perhaps because some of that brutally honest self-reflection hit too close to home at times). Lila on the other hand is essentially the opposite, a true enigma who cannot be seen clearly even in the rare moments when she seems intent on making herself understood. This is just one aspect of the yin and yang of Lila and Lenu; the heart of what makes this series so compelling and what will - I'm sure - make future rereads so rewarding. These books and characters have a special place in my heart. I'm looking forward to rereading them someday, and in the meantime I will of course be reading everything else Elena Ferrante has ever written.

leighsneade's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.5

xceltictea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

831677's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0